Administration Apprentice

Administration Apprentice

What does an Administration Apprentice do?

My role is to provide support to all of the departments within our organisation; this has given me some great experience working with different areas of a business.

More specifically my job is to organise trains, hotels, flights and taxis for our non-office based staff, I look after our stationery supplies, and I work on a system that involves checking apprenticeship certificates for errors and approving or rejecting them. Though these are just some of the tasks I do.

How did you end up in this job?

Before getting my first apprenticeship I was unemployed for a year. During this time I was looking for work I didn’t have a lot of success even getting to interview stage because I had very limited work experience. I then started directing my attention towards apprenticeships and soon found a job. I found that employers like to take on apprentices because the benefit for them is that they have someone who is continuously learning and they can mould to fit the job.

What advice would you give to someone thinking of pursuing this career?

I would advise anyone to consider an apprenticeship because not only will it give you the experience and qualifications that employer’s value, there are also many opportunities for development. Apprenticeships can range from an intermediate level (the equivalent of 5 GCSE’s) to a degree level. A degree level apprenticeship offers you the chance to gain the same qualifications as those who go to uni but instead of losing thousands of pounds you will be earning it.

Has your salary changed since then – if not do you see salary progression?

I started out earning the minimum wage for apprentices in their first year which is £2.73 per hour. After moving on to level 3 my wage more than doubled to £7.85 per hour and will increase annually.

If you could give your 16 year old self some career advice, what would it be?

I would tell my 16 year old self that in any profession your attitude to the job is one of the most important factors. As long as you show a willingness to take on any task set to you and are prepared to spend time learning the skills you won’t find a problem progressing.

Also I would encourage myself to consider the food and drink industry. It’s such an overlooked industry despite it being the most successful in the UK and has more variety and opportunities than any other.